Blog
Civil Fraud Quarterly Round-Up: Q1 2022
Mary Young
Our highly regarded and experienced team of specialist civil fraud lawyers can trace, preserve and recover stolen money and assets around the world as well as defend those accused of fraudulent behaviour.
The cost of fraud to businesses and individuals runs into billions of pounds each year. The international nature of commerce and reliance on electronic communications means that there has been a sharp increase in the number and value of fraud claims.
We act for both the victims of fraud and the defendants to civil fraud proceedings.
For victims of fraud
When fraud is suspected or discovered, the first steps you take are critical. At short notice, regardless of the scale and reach of the issue, we can assemble a multi-disciplinary team to provide swift strategic advice. Freezing assets and seizing evidence are crucial to a successful fraud investigation.
We are experienced in tracing, preserving and recovering stolen money and assets around the world and we regularly advise on obtaining freezing injunctions to preserve assets and search orders and Norwich Pharmacal orders to protect and obtain evidence.
We have substantial experience in conducting internal investigations where the fraud has been perpetrated by someone within your business. We work to minimise your losses and safeguard your reputation. We often work with our Criminal and Employment teams in such matters.
For defendants who are accused of fraud
We have represented defendants in some of the biggest fraud cases in the English courts, often challenging freezing and other injunctions.
Drawing on the expertise of our highly regarded Criminal team we are able to act for clients facing simultaneous criminal and civil proceedings..
In collaboration with our acclaimed Reputation Management team we seek to minimise any reputational damage to our clients.
Our Partners are regularly ranked both as a team and individually in the a number of legal directories, including Chambers and Partners, and Legal 500 and Who’s Who Legal.
We have acted on high profile and important recent fraud cases including:
- Successfully opposed the CPS’s appeal to the Supreme Court on the effect of a confiscation order on assets held on constructive trust
- Obtained a multi million pound summary judgment acting for the victims of a Ponzi scheme based around investment-grade wine
- obtained the only judgment in favour of a member of the Ablyazov family in the wide-ranging and on-going litigation brought by BTA Bank;
- acting for the liquidator of a Cayman company in relation to a pension scheme being investigated by the Serious Fraud Office;
- acting for an African government trying to recover assets stolen by a former head of state;
- obtained judgment in favour of a PPI reclaim company against one of its directors /shareholders and assisting with the recovery of the substantial amounts owed to it;
- acted for a Saudi Arabian Sheikh in successfully discharging a world-wide freezing order;
- represented one of over 100 defendants in five consolidated claims brought by the Danish tax authority seeking to recover over £1 billion in withholding tax;
What clients and directories have said
Our experienced team is recognised by the legal directories Chambers and Partners and The Legal 500.
Kingsley Napley is one of the leading firms in the London market for large civil fraud disputes, with particular strength in asset tracing and multi-jurisdictional work"
The Legal 500, 2021
they are nimble, fast and responsive, and able to make decisions very rapidly."
Chambers and Partners, 2020
a big team of well-recognised players in the market" who are "strong on civil fraud."
Chambers and Partners, 2020
They have strength in depth, with associates and partners who have a wide range of experience," adding that the lawyers are "easy to work with, dynamic and creative."
Chambers and Partners, 2020
It's a really strong team there. Ours was the type of job where you'd need to be creative, robust and we couldn't have just said 'this smells a bit, let's issue proceedings,' because we didn't have enough. However, Kingsley Napley found all we needed."
Chambers and Partners, Litigation Support, 2020
It's strength in numbers there. It's not one or two stars, they have a broad spectrum of people who know what they're doing. It was startling how quickly they can pull things out of the bag."
Chambers and Partners, Litigation Support, 2020
The team has a good mix of intellectual and commercial capability, knowing when to push hard and when to step back and take a longer term view of matters. Faced with an apparently intractable problem, they manage to achieve solutions that work for the client and ensure that continual delays sought by an opponent in an effort to grind their clients down are not countenanced, rather are effectively blocked"
Legal 500, 2020
The team is highly knowledgeable, easy to work with and produces an extremely high standard of work."
Chambers and Partners 2019
Everything they do in their approach to cases is commercially astute and pragmatic."
Chambers and Partners, 2019
They have a really deep expertise in fraud."
Chambers and Partners, 2018
They're good at dealing with the client and fighting the case. I'd certainly recommend them."
Chambers and Partners, 2017
They do top-level work."
Chambers UK, 2017
...offers top quality service..."
Legal 500 UK, 2015
For more information, read our frequently asked questions on civil fraud vs criminal fraud disputes and details regarding supervising solicitors.
William Christopher
Partner
Ryan Mowat
Partner
Michael Mulligan
Partner
Fiona Simpson (Français)
Partner
Fiona Simpson
Partner
Sue Thackeray
Partner
Mary Young
Partner
Siân Akerman
Senior Associate
Katie Allard
Associate
Jemma Brimblecombe
Senior Associate
Richard Clayman
Senior Associate
Mark Fallmann
Senior Associate
Hannah Fitzwilliam
Senior Associate
Abigail Hall
Associate
Anna Metadjer
Senior Associate
Katherine Pymont
Senior Associate
Rebecca Ryan
Associate
Daniel Staunton
Senior Associate
The fraud team works seamlessly together and has handled some really tricky, multifaceted pieces of work. The lawyers are straightforward, hard-working, easy to deal with, always very fair on fees and very commercial.
Chambers and Partners, 2022
The firm is one of the godfathers of the industry, a real originator. This is almost exclusively all that they do, it's in their DNA and they've got strength in both the civil and criminal side of things."
Chambers and Partners, Global-wide Litigation Support, 2021
The team in London is absolutely excellent and has great offshore fraud expertise."
Chambers and Partners, 2022
tenacious, patient, efficient and hugely knowledgeable and ethically correct but yet very resourceful. Totally dedicated to achieving a result for the client whilst managing expectations and setting realistic objectives in case management. The team machinery runs like clockwork"
The Legal 500, 2022
The team has some very bright lawyers and the quality of its legal analysis compares favourably with departments at competing firms. It also has a very deep understanding of this sphere of practice, the level of which which is not replicated at many other firms"
The Legal 500, 2022
Latest blogs & news
Civil Fraud Quarterly Round-Up: Q1 2022
Case updates quarterly round-up (1st quarter 2022)
The English Court: A Fraudster’s Crypto-nite
The English High Court, in Mr Dollar Bill Limited v Persons Unknown and Others [2021] EWHC 2718 (Ch), has once again come to the rescue for victims of fraud – this time armed with a Norwich Pharmacal Order to be served outside the jurisdiction.
Civil Fraud Quarterly Round-Up: Q4 2021
A Civil Fraud quarterly round-up (4th quarter 2021)
Civil Fraud Quarterly Round-Up: Q3 2021
A Civil Fraud quarterly round-up (3rd quarter 2021)
Civil Fraud Quarterly Round-Up: Q2 2021
A Civil Fraud quarterly round-up (2nd quarter 2021)
Causing Loss by Unlawful Means - the Dealing Requirement
In the recent case of Secretary of State for Health (“NHS”) v Servier Laboratories Ltd (“Servier”), the Supreme Court considered whether in cases involving loss caused by unlawful means, the unlawful means must have affected a third party's freedom to deal with the claimant. This is known as “the dealing requirement”.
Civil Fraud Quarterly Round-Up: Q1 2021
A Civil Fraud quarterly round-up (1st quarter 2021)
Current trends in fraud: Crypto scams
Despite the Covid-19 pandemic, 2020 was an incredible year for crypto assets. Largely driven by the increased demand from institutional investors, Bitcoin shattered its previous price records. However, its pseudonymous nature and the ease with which it allows users to instantly send funds anywhere in the world makes crypto assets appealing to criminals.
One hand in the cookie jar: Fraud and directors’ duties in insolvency
What happens when a director commits fraud by misappropriating company assets? Or what of the director who continues trading knowing that the company has no realistic prospect of paying its debts as and when they fall due? To whom does a director owe duties at that point and what recourse is there against that director? This article explores these questions.
Civil Fraud Quarterly Round-Up: Q4 2020
A Civil Fraud quarterly round-up (4th quarter 2020)
Directors’ communications with their solicitors: perhaps not as privileged as you think (Part 2)
In the recent case of Barrowfen Properties Ltd v (1) Girish Dahyabhai Patel (2) Stevens & Bolton LLP (3) Barrowfen Properties II [2020] EWHC 2536 (Ch), the High Court extended the iniquity exception to breaches of a director’s statutory duties.
Civil Fraud Quarterly Round-Up: Q3 2020
A Civil Fraud quarterly round-up (3rd quarter 2020)
Preventing, detecting and responding to fraud within charities
The Law Society Gazette and Third Sector recently reported that a number of charities, including Guide Dogs for the Blind Association, Yorkshire Cancer Research, the British Heart Foundation and the National Trust, issued a claim against a former solicitor, Linda Box. They claim to have been deprived of a legacy gift from a Will of which she was the co-executor. Box was sentenced to seven years in prison in 2017, having admitted to 12 offences of fraud, theft and forgery while working as a senior partner at a firm of solicitors in Wakefield, having stolen approximately £4 million. The fraud is said to have been conducted using a process known as “teeming and lading” whereby money is moved between client accounts to hide a shortfall or theft.
Court makes Search Order in COVID times
A search order, made pursuant to section 7 of the Civil Procedure Act 1997 and CPR Part 25, is one of the most draconian orders the English civil courts can make. No Respondent really wants a search team to enter their premises but because of Covid -19 the search team is even less welcome than usual.
Civil Fraud Quarterly Round-Up: Q2 2020
A Civil Fraud quarterly round-up (2nd quarter 2020)
Back to the drawing board: Do I have to re-plead/re-prove my case?
In a recent case, Ward & Ors v Savill [2020] EWHC 1534 (Ch), the judge had to grapple with the question - can a claimant rely on an earlier judgment granted in one case involving different parties to enable it to bring a new claim against a different defendant without having to re-plead and prove the facts and matters it relied on in the first case?
All swans are white….?
I have always had a soft spot for the Black Swan jurisdiction: nothing to do with the law, but because it reminds me of my previous study of philosophy and the use of “all swans are white” as an example of falsification theory.
Fraud Unravels All?
In the recent case of Georgallides –v- Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy [2020] EWHC 768 (Ch), the High Court grappled with the question of how the maxim “fraud unravels all” should apply to disqualification undertakings given pursuant to Section 8A of the Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986 (“the CDDA”).
How to guard against and respond to fraud in the charity sector
It has been widely reported that fraudsters are currently seeking to exploit the situation with COVID-19. Alarmingly, Action Fraud reported an increase in coronavirus related fraud by 400% in March. In this blog we outline some of the critical questions, which all charities, irrespective of size and stature, should be asking themselves to identify areas of risk and detect fraud and how to best respond if the charity has been a victim of fraud.
The Maserati Fraud
In the recent case of Sell Your Car With Us Limited v Sareen [2019] EWHC 232 (Ch) the Insolvency Court were asked to determine whether the ultimate victim of an email hacking fraud, Mr Sareen, was liable in contract and/or tort to Sell Your Car With US Ltd (the “Company”) for causing the fraud by failing to take reasonable care over the security of his emails and/or take reasonable control over his email security.
